ONCE THE FESTIVE season winds down, it’s time to think about storage for those bit and bobs that made the Christmas period more enjoyable. What do you need to know to keep your decorations in tip top shape until next year?
Each fortnight, Laura de Barra brings her lifestyle and home maintenance expertise to the Glenveagh Home Magazine on TheJournal.ie – and this week she’s sharing her advice for packing away Christmas decorations.
THE 5th OF January – just the end of this week, in fact – is actually the 12th and final day of Christmas.
It’s known as Epiphany, when the Magi (the three wise men to you and I) popped in to visit baby Jesus. Aside from their presents and presence, this date is also significant for another reason.
It’s when your Christmas decorations should come down. By midnight, to be precise.
It’s a process that we are rarely prepped for or look forward to. The temptation to pile all decorations in to one box and deal with them later will be strong, but hopefully after taking in some of these tips, future you will be reaping the rewards next year.
Here are some of my top tips for keeping Christmas decoration storage simple, cost effective and sustainable.
Preparing for packing away your decorations is vital here. You can pick up decoration storage packs easily, but ideally you’ll have held onto as much of the original decoration packaging as you can. These boxes and packages will be designed to hold your decorations best.
Other items you may have around your home that will help you in your storage endeavours include…
Egg boxes: Ideal for more delicate decorations and they’re also stackable within larger boxes.
Kitchen roll or wrapping paper inserts: Tinsel and string decorations can be wrapped around these, or long, thin decorations such as candy canes can be stored within. Another hack here is to use them to store light cables in. Once you have popped them inside, write the length, location and light fitting on the card, and next year you’ll be able to set up your outside lights much more quickly.
Wrapping paper: Keeping tissue and wrapping paper will help greatly with the storage process. It’s kinder to the world than bubble wrap and you probably have an abundance left over from Christmas presents. Wrapping up wreaths and garlands will also ensure they don’t gather dust.
Cardboard: Keep delivery boxes as these are useful for packing away decorations as well as helping store them cleverly. Pieces of cardboard cut to A4 size are ideal for wrapping lights around. You can also cut smaller boxes up to make divider inserts for larger boxes that decorations can sit in snugly. Place a layer of cardboard between each divider to make decorations stackable. Lastly, wine boxes are a godsend for storing groups of baubles once they have been wrapped.
Sweet boxes and biscuit tins: These are great storage containers that will last for years and are super durable. They’re handy to pop your lights into once you have wrapped them around a that piece of card.
Before you begin, photograph every arrangement you liked this year that you would like to replicate next year. This will help you set everything up a lot quicker and also show you what could be grouped together for storage. It’s also handy to keep decorations for specific rooms or areas together
As you sort through what you liked this year, be really honest with yourself about anything you wish to leave in 2019.
Reuse: My top tip here is to link up with friends and see if there are decorations any they would like to swap. It’s a great way to reduce waste and spending for next year and it’s also good fun. You can swap entire looks and colour schemes as well as individual ornaments.
Recycle: When it comes to throwing anything away, check online what you can and cannot recycle. Most mixed material baubles will have to go in general waste, so make sure baubles in good condition are donated. Otherwise, card, some plastic and paper decorations can be recycled once put in the correct bin.
One big waste at Christmas is unused wrapping and ribbons. Don’t forget to dedicate a box or bag to these. You’ll be glad you did it next year, when it saves you buying all new rolls. Gift bags can be reused as well, so pop those in the box, too.
When labelling any boxes you cannot see through, make sure the label will be visible once it’s in its storage position. Try to store smaller boxes and bags in one big box to save time during removal and reduce chances of damage during storage.
If you are not storing in plastic containers, keep cardboard off floors that may have a leak or mouse risk.
If you have moments of despair during the pack-up process, just remember how glorious it will be next year to open your well-organised decorations!
Laura de Barra’s book, Gaff Goddess, will be published in February 2020 by Transworld Ireland. Pre-order it here – and follow her on Instagram for even more cleaning and lifestyle tips.
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